Performance Intelligence

Most senior leaders have a year in mind when they will finally stop. House paid off, kids launched, a few rounds of golf a week.Dr Norman Swan thinks that date deserves a much harder look. The research he’s been reading points to retirement as a likely cause of cognitive decline, with the same drop showing up across country after country. And the plan most of us have for filling the time, more family, a caravan trip, a few series to binge, doesn’t give the brain the load it needs.Swan, the ABC’s best-known health broadcaster, joined Andrew live in Sydney for Florence Guild to talk about his book The Brain Cliff and the super-agers who stay sharp into their nineties and beyond. What they share is surprising, and it starts with how they handle stress.Contact Dr Norman Swan: https://www.abc.net.au/news/norman-swan/2849474Order The Brain Cliff: https://www.hachette.com.au/dr-norman-swan/the-brain-cliff00:00 The retirement date leaders should be suspicious of03:05 Three super agers who never hit the cliff06:54 Why the brain cliff is not inevitable09:04 What super agers share, and the blue zone problem11:13 Stress doesn't age your brain. Rumination does12:16 Scaffolding: how the ageing brain rewires itself14:22 Why your brain lights up when it's meant to rest17:22 Train your brain like a muscle19:52 Fluid vs crystallised intelligence in midlife23:44 The dementia story the headlines miss26:25 Norman turns 70. His kids think he's 5029:13 A week in Norman's life: training, food, sleep, zero supplements33:07 The 200 hours behind a close friendship38:04 Inside a biohacking conference: drips, peptides, red light helmets46:40 Why retirement pushes you off the cliff50:34 Q&A: Can you come back from the cliff?53:59 Meditation and breaking the rumination loop57:44 Don't load all your dice on one thing59:54 Boredom, screens and digital dementia-High performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing. Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.Get in touch through:Our website: https://performanceintelligence.com/Book Andrew: https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performanceintelligencepq/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performanceintelligence-byandrewmay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performanceintelligencebyam/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Glenn McGrath never told his teammates what time he’d see them in the morning. Everyone already knew where he’d be: in the pool, 90 minutes before the bus left, every match day of his career.Former Australian cricketer Michael Bevan explains why McGrath’s real edge was doing simple tasks well, over and over, and why the gap between good and great players is so rarely about talent. Manly’s Jake Trbojevic shares the trademarks he writes down before every game: the few things he knows he does well, and the rest he refuses to chase under pressure.He’ll tell you which trademarks he chose, and why naming them has made him calmer before kick-off. He also explains what happened when Bevan suggested he trademark the rest of his life.You can find Bevo at his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bevo_michaelbevan/?hl=enYou can find Jake at his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaketrbojevic/?hl=en-High performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing. Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.Get in touch through:Our website: https://performanceintelligence.com/Book Andrew: https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performanceintelligencepq/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performanceintelligence-byandrewmay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performanceintelligencebyam/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Before you go looking for your next big idea, go back to your last great one.Marcus Bridge was four months into fronting Northlane when the band recorded Node. It went to #1 and won an ARIA, but a decade on he’d outgrown the singer on that record, so he went back into the studio and sang it again.A rock star might seem an unlikely teacher for a leader. But Marcus has spent 10 years doing what you do: delivering on demand, under pressure, with an audience judging every move.Going back is the reinvention most leaders skip, and probably the one you need. Look in the rear view mirror at the work that got you here, and ask what it would sound like with everything you know now. Andrew plays both versions back to back, then he and Marcus get into what it takes to keep evolving when everyone is watching.If you lead a team that expects you to keep raising the bar, this one will change where you look for your next step forward.00:00 Would you redo your best work from ten years ago?02:17 Why a metal singer is on a leadership podcast04:01 The childhood he had to survive04:58 Turning his story into songs08:46 Reflection, and the trusted conversation that changed everything13:04 The audition where everyone else copied the band17:09 Number one, and no time for imposter syndrome20:08 The teenage promise, and what really got him there24:46 Care, accountability and the partner who won't let him stew30:53 Why he went back to his number one album34:34 Ten years apart: hear both versions39:17 The good work you've shelved43:23 Emotional at 26, physical at 3547:22 Andrew's heart rate experiment50:45 A vocal warm-up for anyone who presentsYou can find Marcus on his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcusbridge/?hl=enFollow Northlane on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northlane/?hl=enFind out more on Northlane's website: https://au.northlaneband.com/High performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing. Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.Get in touch through:Our website: https://performanceintelligence.com/Book Andrew: https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performanceintelligencepq/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performanceintelligence-byandrewmay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performanceintelligencebyam/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

There is a phrase elite performers use to keep people at a distance without ever saying so directly: don't look at me, look at my performance. Dr Michael Gervais, the sport psychologist behind some of the NFL's most recognised teams and a trusted voice inside Super Bowl-winning locker rooms, built an entire career on that idea before he noticed what it was costing him somewhere much closer to home. It took one blunt question from someone he trusted to show him the difference between being excellent and being known. What that question was, and what changed once he actually answered it, is the part worth sitting with. You can find Dr Michael at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmichaelgervais/Listen to the Finding Mastery Podcast: https://findingmastery.com/High performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing. Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.Get in touch through:Our website: https://performanceintelligence.com/Book Andrew: https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performanceintelligencepq/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performanceintelligence-byandrewmay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performanceintelligencebyam/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Much of what leaders put down to stress, or to a lapse in discipline, is chemistry at work. Andrew chose five of these moments, drew a real scenario from our coaching practice for each, and asked an expert to identify the neurotransmitter behind it, without warning.Play along. One scenario is the board presentation that keeps replaying long after midnight. Another is the leader whose drive has quietly gone flat, and it gives even our expert pause.Professor Tom Buckley is a University of Sydney academic and Andrew’s co-author on MatchFit.See if you can name each chemical before he does, then learn the levers that lift it and the ones that bring it back down.00:00 Five chemicals, five real leadership scenarios02:04 What the human body is actually made of04:52 The challenge: name the chemical07:39 Chemical 1: when you can't get started13:55 Chemical 2: wired before the board meeting, awake after it20:34 Three minutes in the car before walking inside24:00 How to come down after a big day27:00 How to ramp up: sunlight, cold water and caffeine timing31:07 Chemical 3: the team that won't say what it thinks40:46 Chemical 4: snapping at the kids at 9am on Saturday49:53 Hot milk, cooked tomato and what our grandparents knew52:12 Chemical 5: when nothing feels fun anymore55:52 Vitamin FLPJ and the joy diary1:03:14 Coming down is two jobs1:04:27 Why leaders can wind up but can't switch offFind Dr Tom Buckley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-buckley-06a76b98?originalSubdomain=auDownload the neurotransmitters sheet: https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Chemistry-Table-PQ-White.png-High performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing. Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.Get in touch through:Our website: https://performanceintelligence.com/Book Andrew: https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performanceintelligencepq/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performanceintelligence-byandrewmay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performanceintelligencebyam/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Most leaders have said it. My door’s always open. Far fewer realise their team is watching whether they ever walk through a door themselves. Former NRL player Keegan Hipgrave was the teammate everyone could talk to, the one pushing mates to open up inside a macho dressing room, and later the host of his own mental health podcast. Yet for 8 years, he kept the loss of one of his best mates locked away, while telling everyone else to talk. What finally broke that silence, and what changed once it did, is where the real lesson for leaders sits.This episode discusses suicide. If it raises anything for you, support is available through Lifeline on 13 11 14. -You can find Keegan at his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keeganhipgrave/?hl=enOr at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keegan-hipgrave-9a36b8230/Follow Keegan's podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keeganandcompanypodcast/?hl=enListen to Keegan's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/keegan-and-company/id1695873736High performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing. Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.Get in touch through:Our website: https://performanceintelligence.com/Book Andrew: https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performanceintelligencepq/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performanceintelligence-byandrewmay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performanceintelligencebyam/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

If culture’s in HR, it’s in foster care. Karl Treacher has spent 25 years inside boardrooms, including the war room of a big four bank during the Royal Commission, and he has watched leaders hand culture to the one department that was never meant to own it. Engagement scores can look healthy while the culture underneath is quietly turning toxic, and the board is often the last to know.Karl built a culture diagnostic later featured in Harvard Business Review, and he says measuring culture is far easier than most leaders believe. He and Andrew get into what boards consistently misread about the culture they lead, and the afternoon in an aged care day room that set the course of his career. If you sit on a board, run a team or answer to one, this conversation will change how you look at your own organisation. 00:00 Who really owns culture in your company? 01:31 Nursing homes, Olive and the moment Karl saw the system was the problem 07:41 “If culture’s in HR, it’s in foster care” 09:31 Culture vs climate: the confusion boards keep making 11:38 Building the culture diagnostic HBR called the gold standard 14:43 Donuts, beers and gaming the engagement survey 15:41 Inside a big four bank’s war room during the Royal Commission 16:59 Return to office: what the evidence actually says 22:32 Small business: when the founder’s character becomes the culture 24:30 Why most leaders have burnout wrong 28:45 Writing a book on burnout, and burning out 31:37 Why we’re running antique cultures not fit for todayFind out more about Karl’s work and the Culture Institute: https://builttoburn.com.au/ Connect with Karl on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/treacher/ Get Karl’s book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Built-Burn-People-Leaders-Cultures/dp/1394456514-High performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing. Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.Get in touch through:Our website: https://performanceintelligence.com/Book Andrew: https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performanceintelligencepq/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performanceintelligence-byandrewmay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performanceintelligencebyam/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Lost jobs. Bankruptcy. Marriages that did not survive. Unmanaged ADHD can leave a trail most of us never see, because the risk-taking that looks like drive on the outside is fed by the same low dopamine that quietly pulls a life apart. Lindy Hadges maps the layers sitting beneath the label, and makes the case that you cannot work with ADHD until you understand what is actually holding it in place. View the ADHD Cake model: https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ADHD-Cake-of-Understanding.pngFind out more about the ADHD Foundation: https://adhdfoundation.org.au/about-usConnect with Lindy: https://ccaa.net.au/practitioner/200102-14/High performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing. Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.Get in touch through:Our website: https://performanceintelligence.com/Book Andrew: https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performanceintelligencepq/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performanceintelligence-byandrewmay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performanceintelligencebyam/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

You’re exceptional at your job. That isn’t the problem. The skills, the experience, the judgement, you’ve spent years building those and they aren’t going anywhere.The question is whether you’ve still got the capacity to use them. Enough in the tank for the project that matters. Something left for the people at home afterwards. The momentum to get where you told everyone you were going.And the wave is coming either way. A bigger year, a harder quarter, a team asking more of you than it did last time. Capability isn’t what keeps you upright when it lands.Byron Cannon has the capability. He is the CEO of LDK Seniors’ Living, a business about to triple in size, and a year ago he worked out capability wasn’t what he was running out of. Andrew and Byron walk through how they built Byron's leadership capacity to sustain his performance and how this rippled onto his leadership team.Byron didn’t do anything you couldn’t do. He just did it before he had to.00:00 Why senior leaders really get pushed out 07:12 The hotel room phone call: “I can see burnout on the horizon” 11:02 Inside Byron’s full physical and psychological assessment 13:41 Dr Tom Buckley on what the data showed 20:20 Love, decency and kindness: the mission to change retirement living 26:33 Larry the gnome and how LDK builds its culture 29:46 The mindset shift: treating leadership capacity as strategy 38:47 AI: why depleted leaders outsource their thinking 47:34 How Byron rewrote Andrew’s framework: from survival week to surge week 52:50 “I felt selfish”: the hidden barrier to putting yourself first 56:29 Eight months later: the reassessment results 01:06:45 Unscripted: Byron’s team shares what changed for themWant to learn more about Leadership Capacity? Start here: https://performanceintelligence.com/building-leadership-capacity/Follow Byron on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/byroncannonLearn about LDK: https://ldk.com.au/-High performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing. Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.Get in touch through:Our website: https://performanceintelligence.com/Book Andrew: https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performanceintelligencepq/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performanceintelligence-byandrewmay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performanceintelligencebyam/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Ask Lisa Alexander who the best coaches she has known were, and almost none of them were the best players. Alexander spent a decade running the Australian Diamonds netball team to an 81 per cent win rate, one of the most dominant coaching records in Australian sport, and she names the pattern directly: serial winning coaches are rarely elite players themselves. The reason has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with what coaching actually requires. What that is, and who she credits with teaching her the difference, is where this goes. You can find Lisa at the TGI website: https://tgisport.com.au/talent/lisa-alexander/Or the Celebrity Speakers website: https://www.celebrityspeakers.com.au/speakers/lisa-alexander/Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-alexander-am-a83bb378/?originalSubdomain=auHigh performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.Hosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly, manage pressure and consistently perform at their best.Drawing on more than 20 years working with senior executives, elite sporting teams and the Australian Defence Force, Andrew combines candid conversations with evidence-based performance insights and practical strategies you can apply.Episodes span leadership capacity, performance psychology, mental skills, energy management, strategic recovery, productivity and wellbeing. Listen to think more clearly, lead more effectively and perform at your best for longer.Get in touch through:Our website: https://performanceintelligence.com/Book Andrew: https://performanceintelligence.com/keynotes/Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performanceintelligencepq/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performanceintelligence-byandrewmay Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/performanceintelligencebyam/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@performanceintelligencepodcastIf you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.